Tennessee's Tornado Alley & Dixie Alley

Tornado Alley is a term coined to depict where the strongest tornadoes occur the most frequently in the United States and over the years it has been in the mid-western states. Middle Tennessee is part of Dixie Alley, not Tornado Alley.

Dixie Alley Location

The term "Dixie Alley" is used for the areas in the southeastern parts of the United States which typically includes the lower Mississippi Valley and the upper Tennessee Valley. Dixie Alley has nearly the same number tornadoes ranked F-3 or higher as Tornado Alley but there are more tornado deaths in Dixie Alley. This is mainly due to the area being more densely populated and also because this area has a higher number of mobile homes. ​​

Tornado Alley Location

While the location and meaning of Tennessee Tornado Alley will have a different meaning to just about anyone you talk to, so is its location. The location of Tennessee’s Tornado Alley is supposed to be based on the number of tornadoes per county were per square miles and currently, there are two area’s which qualify.

The first covers five counties that include; Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Trousdale, and Wilson Counties. The second is in southern Middle Tennessee in Giles, Lincoln, and Marshall Counties.

On the other hand, most locals and old timers have always referred to Tennessee’s Tornado Alley as the most frequented paths that tornadoes have taken over the years throughout the Middle Tennessee area, the commonly known hotbeds of deadly Tornado activity.

This would include an area that begins just east of the Tennessee River and heads into Montgomery County, Robertson and Sumner County as well as an area south of Nashville that begins near Perry County and heads east into Maury, Williamson and sometimes Rutherford County.

No matter which method is used, both tend to contain errors because as you see it’s a tornado and whether it hits one county more frequently than another or whether it chooses a similar path, it’s still very unpredictable which leads to the heart of the matter; the fear of destruction.